Saturday, April 13, 2013

'Disconnect' Will Connect With Audiences

By Darlene
Donloe

After
watching Henry Alex Rubin’s Disconnect,
which opened nationwide April 12, hopefully people will think twice about the
amount of information they reveal on the internet and especially what they post
on social media outlets.

This thriller
is a disturbing, frustrating, fascinating and eye-opening look at the darker
side of what has become a worldwide phenomenon. It’s not all fun and games on
the internet. Sometimes bad things happen to good people. Sometimes something
very innocent can escalate and truly become ‘a thing’. Tragedy can strike at
every turn or rather at every posting. Communicating has taken on many
different forms. Does anyone write
letters or send cards anymore? Reality
bites!

In this
drama, which has strong thematic content interwoven into three stories, there
are some thought–provoking issues that every family should assess for
themselves. The lives of everyone
in the movie are affected by their online activities. Each story has its own
poignant voice and striking outcome.

JASON BATEMAN

One of the
stories involves a high school loner named Ben, who is pranked by two of his
mean-spirited classmates Jason, played by Colin Ford and Frye, played by Avaid
Bernstein. The two decide to go online
and pretend to be Jessica, a girl who is interested in getting to know
Ben. After a while Ben becomes
comfortable chatting with Jessica and lets down his guard. When she sends him a naked
picture (it’s a picture of some anonymous woman) she asks for him to send one
of himself. And when he does all hell breaks out at school when Jason and Frye
mass-email the picture to everyone at school. Ben’s parents are played by Jason Bateman (Rich) and Hope
Davis (Lydia). Rich, unaware
of what really happened in the beginning, decides to mount his own
investigation. The
investigation also reveals some powerful truths about his relationship with his
own son. It’s quite a powerful moment.

MAX THIEROT

The next story is about an investigative television reporter named Nina Dunham (Andrea
Riseborough), who, as research, logs into a private chatroom featuring a porn
cam-guy named Kyle (Max Thierot). Nina finally connects with Kyle by telling
him she doesn’t want to watch him do sexual acts, but rather wants to do a
story on his lifestyle. Of course, things go awry quickly.

The third story centers on Derek and Cindy Hull (Alexander Skarsgard
and Paula Patton), a husband and wife who recently lost their young son. The
two struggle to even communicate. Derek likes to gamble online, Cindy finds
solace in a support chat group where she befriends a man (Michael Nyqvist) who
is trying to get over the loss of his wife. Communication has nearly been severed by the recent death of their
toddler son. They are both hurting, but lack the skills to work through the
pain with their partner. Cindy tries to communicate with him but he's
unresponsive. His refuge is on-line gambling. Hers is a support chat group,
where she "befriends" an anonymous man (Michael Nyqvist) who is
coping with the death of his wife. This segment is a bit forced, but it does work.

PAULA PATTON & ALEXANDER SKARSGARD

To add insult to injury, the Hulls' identities are stolen. That’s when the story gets even
juicier.